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Rugops
| image = RugopsInfobox.png|thumb | image_caption = An artist's illustration of a pair of Rugops primus | image_width = 240px | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Chordata | clade1 = Dinosauria | ordo = Saurischia | subordo = Theropoda | familia = †Abelisauridae | genus = †''Rugops'' | genus_authority = Sereno et al., 2004 | species = †''R. primus'' | binomial = Rugops primus | binomial_authority = Sereno et al., 2004 }}Rugops Primus (meaning “first wrinkle face”) is a genus of medium sized abelisaurid theropod dinosaur, which inhabited what is now Africa approximately 95 million years ago (Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous). The discovery of a Rugops skull in Niger in 2000 was a crucial breakthrough in the understanding of the evolution of theropods in that area, and demonstrates that this landmass was still united with Gondwana at that stage in history. It was contemporary of the much larger carnivores Spinosaurus, Sarcosuchus, ''and ''Carcharodontosaurus. It also has one of the shortest names of any dinosaur along with the Australian ankylosauroid ''Minmi'' and the scansoriopterygid ''Yi''. Description At 4-4.5 m (12-16 ft) long and 1.5 m (4 ft) high at the hip, Rugops was a midsize carnivore. The skull bore armour or scales, and other bones had many blood vessels, causing Dr. Paul Sereno, who led the team that discovered the fossil, to say, “It’s not the kind of head designed for fighting or bone-crushing”, suggesting that it may have been mostly a scavenger (though this has yet to fully be confirmed). The skull also bears two rows of seven holes each, of unknown purpose, although Sereno has speculated that they may have anchored some kind of crest or horns. Like other abelisaurs, Rugops probably had very short arms. These were probably useless in fighting. They may have only been balance tools, items to counterbalance the dinosaur’s head. The type species is R. primus (meaning “first wrinkle-face”). Rugops ''is believed to be an abelisaurid, related to other abelisaurids like ''Majungasaurus ''and ''Carnotaurus. The discovery of the related genus ''Chenanisaurus'' indicates African abelisaurids such as Rugops may have been distinct from other abelisaurids in Gondwana. Paleoecology The discovery of Rugops's skull in Niger in 2000 was a crucial breakthrough in the understanding of the evolution of theropods in that area, and demonstrates that this landmass was still united with Gondwana at that stage in history. It lived in the same locality and geological time period as Spinosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and Deltadromeus. In the media *''Rugops appears in the third episode of ''Monsters Resurrected Biggest Killer Dino, attacking a juvenile Paralititan ''but inaccurately shown it being lifted by the jaws of ''Spinosaurus and gobbled up whole. ''In real life, a 30 ft long ''Rugops ''was far too large for ''Spinosaurus ''to lift with its 5.5 ft (1.7 meter) long jaws and consume whole. The other one was being chased by the Spinosaurus but was killed like the last one. Then a pack of 5 Rugops took down a Paralititan before having a Spinosaurus attempt to steal the food, but the pack's numbers are so great, the theropods kill and eat the Spinosaurus after it fell on it's side & broke it's tall spines. *''Rugops ''also appears in BBC's ''Planet Dinosaur, where it was shown as a scavenger, eating the remains of the dead 8 m (27 ft) sawfish Onchopristis left by a Spinosaurus. *''Rugops'' DNA was used in order to help make the Indominus rex in Jurassic World by adding neck armour to it. *This dinosaur was one of the supporting characters (identified in 2016) in Ricardo Delgado's Age of Reptiles: Ancient Egyptians mini-series. Gallery Rugops/Gallery Category:Saurischia Category:Dinosaurs of Africa Category:Large Carnivores Category:Abelisaurs Category:Cretaceous Dinosaurs Category:Cretaceous animals Category:Cretaceous Period Category:Archosaurs Category:Ceratosaurs Category:Reptiles Category:Prehistoric Life Category:Prehistoric Category:Planet Dinosaur Creatures Category:Dinosaurs Category:Crested dinosaurs Category:How Do Dinosaurs Creatures Category:Fossil taxa described in 2004 Category:Monsters Resurrected Creatures Category:Pages in need of sourcing Category:Prehistoric animals of Africa Category:Abelisauridae